King says lawmakers’ trip to Netherlands is OK

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The state’s new law limiting gifts to public officials doesn’t prohibit two lawmakers from traveling to the Netherlands on a lobbyist’s dime to learn about a uranium enrichment plant similar to one being constructed in Southeast New Mexico, the attorney general says. The new act, which takes effect next Friday, prohibits public officials and candidates for state and local offices from accepting gifts with a value of more than $100 during legislative sessions and $250 the rest of the year. It also prohibits lobbyists from giving gifts whose combined value total more than $1,000 to any official or candidate each year. Reps. William Gray of Artesia and Shirley Tyler of Lovington, both Republicans, asked Attorney General Gary King for an opinion on whether the trip would be prohibited under the new law. Continue Reading

Alan Riehl to host The Morning Show

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I just got back from spending about an hour on the radio with the new host of The Morning Show on KSNM-AM 570. Alan Riehl seems to be an intelligent, friendly person. Today was his first day on the air after Michael Swickard and Radio Las Cruces, the station’s parent company, parted ways on Tuesday. He’s still learning the setup, and there were a few kinks, but I think he’ll fill in nicely. Riehl, 43, was born and raised in El Paso but came to Las Cruces in 1999. Continue Reading

Listen to discussion on ethics reform later today

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At 4:30 p.m. today, I’ll be hosting the third New Mexico Blog Radio show. Matt Brix, a policy analyst who serves on the governor’s task force on ethics reform, will be the guest. Brix and I will be discussing ethics in state government and some proposals for reform. If you haven’t experienced it before, blog talk radio is like conventional talk radio, only it’s on the Internet. You visit a Web site and listen through your computer. Continue Reading

Denish, Rawson help launch Spanish network

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Angela Kurz, a photographer who runs the site CrucesLive.com, took these photos Tuesday at the launching of the Spanish-language V-me network at KRWG-TV’s studio in Las Cruces. V-me is the nation’s only Spanish-language public television network. The first photo is of Lt. Gov. Diane Denish. The second is of state Sen. Leonard Lee Rawson of Las Cruces. Kurz, a German immigrant, has an interesting take on Spanish-language television and other materials and government programs that aren’t in English. Continue Reading

Univision to hold presidential debates in Spanish; Richardson will participate, urges others to attend

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The nation’s largest Spanish-language network has invited presidential candidates from both parties to attend debates conducted in Spanish, and Gov. Bill Richardson is the first to accept. Univision plans to hold the Democratic and Republican candidate debates on two Sundays in September. They would be held in Miami and would likely focus on immigration, the Los Angeles Times is reporting. The Democratic debate is scheduled for Sept. 9 at the University of Miami. Continue Reading

LCPS board promotes Rounds, may skip new search

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Stan Rounds is no longer the interim superintendent of the Las Cruces Public Schools. That’s because on Tuesday night the school board voted 4-1 to remove “interim” from his title. It’s a move that could eventually mean the board decides against conducting a search it previously planned for a superintendent to replace Rounds. When board members hired Rounds in February, they planned to keep him as interim superintendent for at least a year to allow the district time to stabilize after years of turmoil, then begin the search for a permanent superintendent. Since coming on, Rounds has impressed many, and the board has been pleased with his work. Continue Reading

McCamley wants commission to support drilling delay

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Doña Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley wants his peers to approve a resolution supporting the postponement of oil and gas drilling on the Otero Mesa until a study of the water underneath it is complete. The delay has the support of three of New Mexico’s elected officials in Washington – Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman and Rep. Tom Udall and Republican Sen. Pete Domenici – who have all asked the Bush Administration to put off leasing the land. U.S. Rep. and Hobbs oilman Steve Pearce, R-N.M., whose district includes the Otero Mesa, has thus far been silent on the issue. McCamley, a Democrat, is vying for the right to take on Pearce next year, but so is Al Kissling. McCamley said the resolution, which commissioners will consider on Tuesday, is not politically motivated. Continue Reading

In election year, Albuquerque council politics are wild

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By Whitney Cheshire Jails, taxes, lies, bloggers, candidates who can’t read a voting record… Will the GOP stay mum? Welcome to Campaign Albuquerque 2007! We’re going to stick with Albuquerque stuff today, because it really doesn’t get any better than this! By now, you know that the Albuquerque City Council handed Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Martin Chávez a stiff defeat on Monday when it overrode his veto, keeping in place $9 million for jail funding. On a 6-3 vote that crossed party lines, a majority of the council said “No” to Mayor Marty and his latest attempt to funnel public safety dollars into his special projects. Continue Reading

Swickard no longer part of The Morning Show

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Michael Swickard and Radio Las Cruces have parted ways. Effective immediately, The Morning Show on KSNM-AM 570 won’t be hosted by Michael Swickard, both Swickard and the radio station’s parent company confirmed today. Swickard said the decision was mutual. Ernesto Garcia, operations manager for Radio Las Cruces, said Swickard “decided to end his participation with the show.” The Morning Show will continue, Garcia said, adding that Radio Las Cruces “hopes to have a new host soon.” The show focuses on the Las Cruces area and has regular interviews with guests on topics ranging from politics to sports to special events. Swickard, who was named Division 2 talk show host of the year by the New Mexico Broadcaster’s Association three times, is generally a conservative, but sometimes took a viewpoint on his show that shocked those on the right. Continue Reading

Richardson to visit five Western states in seven days

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Gov. Bill Richardson will raise money and attend campaign events in at least five Western states, including New Mexico, in the next week. Richardson is in the San Antonio area of Texas today attending fundraisers, according to a news release from his campaign. He’ll be in Dallas and Houston on Wednesday to raise money. He then heads to Nevada. Wednesday evening, he’ll give a speech to a Democratic group there. Continue Reading

County will likely return to detailed meeting minutes

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The Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners appears ready to take another step toward more open government. For years, the county provided detailed minutes of commission meetings. That caused many problems, because the clerk’s office didn’t have enough resources to handle the work load. In recent years, the clerk’s office struggled with completing minutes in the time required by the New Mexico Open Meetings Act, leading to repeated violations of the act. After the 2004 special audit of the county found dozens of violations in 2003 alone, the county hired outside help so the clerk’s office could catch up. Continue Reading

Southern New Mexico trying to draw film industry

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Since Gov. Bill Richardson took office, the state has invested tens of millions of dollars to attract the film industry. Northern New Mexico has repeatedly reaped the benefits with the filming of a number of pictures in the area. In addition, a number of companies have relocated employees and opened new offices in the Albuquerque area, making that region a real threat to Hollywood, the Los Angeles Times reported recently. Though the state has invested millions to develop the Creative Media Institute at New Mexico State University, that hasn’t drawn films to Southern New Mexico. The university, in partnership with the City of Las Cruces and Doña Ana County, hopes to change that. Continue Reading

GOP presidential candidates square off tonight

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Though I’ve been covering the Democratic presidential primary more than the GOP’s because of Gov. Bill Richardson’s candidacy, I wanted to let you know that CNN is hosting the third debate of Republican candidates tonight. Hopefully, the network learned from Sunday’s Democratic debate and will treat the lesser-known GOP candidates better than it did Richardson and other second-tier Democratic candidates. The debate begins at 5 p.m. You can read CNN’s preview by clicking here. Watch the debate by clicking here. Continue Reading

Denish makes trip to Las Cruces today

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Lt. Gov. Diane Denish is in Las Cruces today for some official business and an event for her 2010 gubernatorial campaign. Denish began the day at 8 a.m. at a “Danish with Diane” event at Roberto’s restaurant hosted by the Democratic Party of Doña Ana County and, according to the invitation, “local labor unions.” I asked Denish’s campaign spokesman Steve Fitzer if that meant the unions were endorsing Denish’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign more than three years before the election. “It’s not an endorsement, but they were happy to help us,” he said, adding that the election is so far away that the campaign wouldn’t seek labor endorsements this early. Denish is also scheduled to attend the official launch of the V-me Spanish-language television network at KRWG-TV’s studio in Las Cruces at 11 a.m. V-me is a public, Spanish-language network that has been around for years but is coming to Southern New Mexico for the first time. Denish also met today with a farming group and toured a pecan orchard. Continue Reading